Light is power: New pacemakers can stimulate heart muscle in a unique way

Scientists have developed a tiny solar cell that encourages the heart to beat.

By PTI | Dec 13, 2018, 04.21 PM IST

WASHINGTON: Scientists have developed a tiny solar cell that encourages the heart to beat, an advance that may pave the way for pacemakers powered by light.

Researchers from University of Chicago in the US created a flexible mesh out of silicon, that when activated by flashes of light, creates a tiny electrochemical effect which can stimulate the heart muscle in a unique way.

They started with one of their own designs previously used to stimulate neurons, but made the mesh thinner to easily wrap around the heart and strewed tiny nanowires across its surface to attach to cardiac cells.

Key authors of the study include (from left): postdoctoral researcher Menahem Rotenberg, doctoral student Ramya Parameswaran and graduate student Kelliann Koehler.

A small optical beam scans the area with a laser. Each flash activates the cells, causing the heart to beat at the same frequency as the light, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Unlike today's pacemakers, this method appears to 'train' the cardiac muscle to beat," said Bozhi Tian, an associate professor at University of Chicago.

It takes awhile for the effect to kick in, but the muscles continue to fire for some time after the light pulses are stopped.

The method is still early in development. If implanted in humans, the mesh could be injected at the target site, and a small optical fiber that would deliver the light pulses could be inserted through minimally invasive surgery, Tian said.

Cut Down On Salt, Drink Fluids: Simple Diet Tips To Avoid Chronic Heart Failure

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Cardiac or heart failure is a clinical condition in which the heart loses the ability to eject blood to meet the requirements of the tissues of the body. Irrespective of the cause, nutritional concerns need to be addressed in this condition in order to prevent morbidity and mortality. Patients with chronic heart failure are at constant risk of losing weight due to the medical condition and also low dietary intake which is due poor appetite, depression or loss of appetite due to consumption of drugs.

Dietary interventions to maintain and restore the nutritional balance are essential part of treatment therapy. These include a suitable change in calorie intake, reduction in sodium and fluid intake, maintenance of potassium and magnesium in the body, and appropriate supplementation with vitamins and minerals.

Here are some simple tips by Dr Ritika Samaddar, Chief Nutritionist at Max Hospital, Saket.